Helen Flanders
Helen Flanders is a demon slayer who joins Ariga Sakura on her journey to collect the Crystal Lightning for the Blue Crystal Rod in order to cure the disease known as the Seed. History Helen was born to Jan and Meridiana Flanders. Helen's mother unfortunately died at childbirth, leaving Jan to raise his child as a single father. Born to an upper-class family, Helen was taken care of by nanny's throughout her childhood. Although Helen did not see her father often, because he was a military commander, she still had a close relationship with him. On the night of Helen’s 16th birthday celebration, Mammon and a group of his subordinate demons invaded her home. While Jan and several other soldiers fought the demons, he asked Zetu to escort Helen away to the “nearest outpost.” Helen refused to leave at first, but was eventually convinced. Helen and Zetu, took refuge in the military outpost Jan spoke of. There, Zetu explained that he and Jan were members of the Demon Slayers, who, as the name implies, are warriors who specialize in defending humanity from hostile demons. The following day, Zetu set off to the Flanders’ manor with several other demon slayers, asking Helen to stay at the outpost until he returned. When Zetu came back from his journey, he revealed to have recovered the corpses of Jan and his men. Helen was devastated by the sight of her deceased father. Becoming a Demon Slayer Weeks after Jan’s funeral, Helen requested to join the Demon Slayers and asked Zetu to teach her how to fight so she could avenge her father and also not need to rely on others to defend herself. Zetu was initially reluctant, but ultimately agreed to Helen’s requests. Helen proved to naturally have strength that should only be possible for an athletic man. Coupled with her unwavering determination, it was not long before Helen became a formidable warrior, far surpassing many of her fellow soldiers in combat. Helen then proceeded to wield her father’s sword, Ignis Iudicii, with deadly proficiency. Along with other demon slayers, she killed many demons that terrorized nearby villages, and her success allowed her to rise to the rank of captain. Despite Helen’s immense proficiency as a warrior, there were many occasions where she could not have survived alone. A demon slayer named Karel saved Helen’s life on many occasions, despite being less skilled of a warrior than she was. The two eventually fell in love and agreed to marry. Only days before their wedding, however, groups of organized demons began terrorizing villages and towns. Demon slayer scouts were able to find a location of which demons seemed to have come from, which was a set of ruins. After several detailed reports indicating the number of demons (which was fairly small) and mapping out the ruins, Helen decided to launch an attack. The battle subsequently ensued, with neither side having an edge. When it appeared that the Demon Slayers were winning, none other than Mammon himself joined his minions, completely turning the tide of the battle in his favor. Seeing Helen, the jarl immediately went after the Demon Slayer leader. With the opportunity to avenge Jan, Helen did not back down. Although she held their own for many minutes, it was eventually clear that she was no match; Helen began to tire, while the demon jarl maintained his full strength. Karel intervened in an attempt to support is fiancé, but fell to Mammon when the demon lord impaled him with his bare hand. On his dying breath, Karel begged Helen to leave him and ordered nearby demon slayers to make sure Helen made it out alive. The remaining demon slayers retreated, dragging their surviving leader with them. The Seed In the year 1590, a disease known as "the Seed," which was spreading quickly. The Demon Slayers spent days killing demons and restraining victims of the Seed. Helen’s personal advisor, Petunia Jansen looked through ancient texts for a cure to the Seed. Through her research, Petunia discovered the existence of the cure – the Blue Lightning Rod. Hundreds of years ago, three shards of Crystal Lightning were split from the artifact, causing it to lose power. Should the Blue Lightning Rod’s power ever need to be called upon, a member of the Ariga Royal Family will embark on a journey to collect all three fragments of Crystal Lightning. The nearest shard was located in the island of Brasil, and so far, those who have sailed to the island were never heard from again. As a result, no sane man or woman has ever set sail for the mythical island in the recent past. Regardless, Helen decided she would search for the Crystal Lightning in hopes of meeting the Ariga royal. In order to keep this information safe, Helen would need to go to the island alone. Upon arriving on Brasil, Helen traveled into the island’s dense forest, and wandered alone for several days in hopes of finding any clues in regards to the Crystal Lightning’s location. After five days since Helen’s arrival on the island, a small group of demons, belonging to Mammon’s army, ambushed her. The demons knocked Helen unconscious, and with the intent of sexually violating her, they stripped her of her garments. Helen, however, was able to wake much sooner than her enemies had expected, and was able to fight them off, re-arm herself, and then finish them. The following day after the first violent encounter, Helen found herself crossing a bog. There, Botis emerged from the waters and attacked her. Helen was able to decapitate two of the creature’s heads, but its different angles of attack prevented her from defending herself adequately. Two of the remaining heads each bit down on an arm, while the creature wrapped its body around Helen’s legs. Before the final head could launch the finishing strike, Barbatos called for the creature to stop. The creature obeyed Barbatos’s command and released Helen, who was surprised that she was saved by none other than another demon. With no choice, Helen thanked Barbatos and asked for his help in guiding her through the forest. Barbatos reluctantly agreed, and then took Helen to his village. Living on Brasil 's village]]Helen met Hecate, the village’s chief and Barbatos’s mother. Hecate welcomed Helen to her village and did not ask why Helen was on the island. Hecate offered Helen a place to stay, prompting Helen to decide to live with the native demons until she could find more evidence on the whereabouts of the Crystal Lightning. During her stay, Helen came across some of the native demons sparring against each other with wooden weapons. Barbatos explained to Helen that his village is constantly at war with fish demons, and therefore, all villagers are trained to be warriors. Within a few days, fish demons indeed launched an attack. Helen decided to help the demons she lived with in fighting off the enemies. After witnessing Helen’s skill, Enyo, Barbatos’s older sister and the village’s best warrior, challenged her in a sparring match. Helen accepted, and Hecate observed the duel herself. Although Enyo was be far more formidable than most of Helen’s past opponents, Helen emerged victorious. Hecate then asked Helen if she could continue to help them defend their borders, seeing that the demon slayer was an incredibly skilled fighter. Still having no leads to the Crystal Lightning she sought, Helen agreed, hoping that her time spent in the demon village will provide her with clues on the artifact’s whereabouts. For the next several weeks, Helen continued to spar against the demons in order to maintain and improve her fighting capabilities and fight off fish demons. In one fight, Helen pursued a runaway fish demon, but Barbatos immediately pulled her away, just as the escapee was fried with a bolt of lightning. Barbatos explained to Helen that several centuries ago, a crystal that “radiated with lightning” ended up in Brasil’s forest, and months after, a powerful demon named Furfur arrived to guard the gem. While Furfur did not go out of his way to attack others, he would mercilessly strike down any who get too close. Several demons had already been killed in the past for accidentally wandering into Furfur’s territory, and therefore, all natives who are aware of Furfur’s ruthlessness stay as far away as possible. Despite of Barbatos’s warnings, Helen was determined to confirm the location of the Crystal Lightning and set out alone in order to not drag the natives into her own personal goals. When Helen arrived at Furfur’s territory, the guardian immediately hurled a bolt of lightning in her direction. Helen narrowly parried the attack with her angelic shield and knew that she would have to face Furfur head-on. Furfur proved to be the most powerful opponent Helen had ever fought against besides Mammon, and then incapacitated her after a few punches to the body. Before Furfur could land the finishing strike, several villagers, attacked Furfur with their bows, drawing his attention, while Barbatos himself helped Helen away. When Helen awoke, she apologized to Barbatos for her recklessness and thanked him for saving her life once again. Following two months since Helen arrived on Brasil, Barbatos proposed to her. Barbatos, in spite of his hideous appearance, reminded Helen of Karel; Helen found herself falling for the demon as well and accepted his proposal. A few weeks after their wedding ceremony, Helen discovered that she was pregnant, and in the following year, she gave birth to a son, who she decided to name after her father, Jan. Not long after Helen gave birth to her son, Mammon’s soldiers began invading the forest in large numbers, and all of the villagers were not enough to stop the attack. It was because of this that the leader of the fish demons, Abyzou, personally travelled into Hecate’s village in order to call for a truce in order for both sides of natives to fight against a common enemy. After a thorough conference between both leaders, Enyo, Barbatos, and Helen, Hecate agreed. Weeks into the siege, Abyzou brought Juni, Cassandra, Wilhelmina, and Florina to meet up with Helen, the former two who had been searching for Helen, enabling the demon slayers to reunite. Joining Sakura On September, 1591, Ariga Sakura, Fumiko, and Miyamoto Syaoran arrived in the middle of an attack by Mammon’s soldiers. Recognizing Mammon’s soldiers as enemies, the new visitors helped Helen and her allies fight off the invaders. Helen noticed that Sakura wielded what seemed to be the Blue Lightning Rod and asked the cat demon about her weapon and her identity. Sakura confirmed what her weapon was and that she was a princess of the Ariga Royal Family, and prepared to extract the crystal. Helen and Barbatos warned Sakura of Furfur, but the demon princess was already aware of the guardian. Recognizing Sakura as a member of the Ariga Royal Family, Furfur peacefully allowed the princess to obtain the crystal. Helen, having waited for this moment, requested to join Sakura in order to help her cure the Seed; Barbatos also asked to join, wishing to participate in the effort. Sakura acknowledged their requests, believing that she could use additional allies. Meanwhile, Fumiko sensed that Furfur felt lost, having fulfilled his only purpose, and invited him to the company. Juni, Cassandra, Wilhelmina, and Florina, instead, decided to stay on Brasil in order to help defend it from future attacks. Physical Description Helen is a very tall and toned young woman with green eyes and strawberry blond hair, which she often keeps in a bun. Upon her introduction, Helen is seen wearing brown leather boots and a right manica and narrow shield, the latter two of which belonged to the Archangel Zeruel; she is nude otherwise, due to the fact that her missing clothes, which originally consisted of a brown leather tunic and leather leggings, were removed in an ambush by one of Mammon’s search parties. Prior to traveling to Brasil, Helen wore lightweight steel plate armor with steel tassets, and the same pair of leather boots and leggings. Personality Helen is a very friendly individual to anyone she does not consider an enemy and often tries to make friends out of strangers. Despite having lived a life fighting and killing hostile demons, Helen was able to befriend Barbatos and his allies, who took care of her during her time in Brasil. That said, Helen is not so naïve as to be easily tricked by those with malicious intent. Helen has also been shown to be emotionally strong, having forced herself to recover quickly from bearing the emotional pain of losing someone dear to her: her father, and then her fiancé. Abilities and Skills After being trained by Zetu and having years of experience slaying demons, Helen is a very skilled warrior. Even at the start of her training as a Demon Slayer, Helen displayed a level of physical strength that rivaled that of an athletic man, something of which is thus far an unexplained anomaly. Helen’s strength is further bolstered when wielding Ignis Iudicii and wearing pieces of Zeruel's armor, all of which are artifacts blessed with Angelic power. With her superhuman strength and speed, Helen wields Ignis Iudicii, a longsword, in a rapier-like manner. Throughout her career, Helen has shown to singlehandedly fight off more than one demon at once; it usually takes more demon slayers to fight each demon. Theme Music "VICTORY" by Thomas Bergersen Gallery Helen_flanders_by_armadillo179_cropped.jpg|Helen fan art by armadillo179 Helen_flanders_by_pjavino_censored.png|Helen art by WALKINGDEADMANN Category:Females Category:Humans Category:Characters Category:Devilkin Ascent Category:Hyper Zergling Category:Main Characters